Bjorn Fratangelo

“It was a huge relief,” said Fratangelo, who turns 19 in July. “Every day it was back and forth. My family and I would talk about it, but they left it up to me. I’m not the best at decision-making.”

I think the last line sums it up

Click to expand...

He was thinking like any 19 year old would. Especially one who's had the taste of the "life". With perspective, it's easy to say he should go to college. But when you're getting PAID to play tennis, it's going to cloud your judgement. And for most 19 year olds, collecting a $1000 check from a futures tourney is like hitting the jackpot. Not having to go back to school after you've already been away from it for a time, plus the prospects of making money from tournaments and sponsors...It's just too much for a kid to say no too. And that's a shame.

He was thinking like any 19 year old would. Especially one who's had the taste of the "life". With perspective, it's easy to say he should go to college. But when you're getting PAID to play tennis, it's going to cloud your judgement. And for most 19 year olds, collecting a $1000 check from a futures tourney is like hitting the jackpot. Not having to go back to school after you've already been away from it for a time, plus the prospects of making money from tournaments and sponsors...It's just too much for a kid to say no too. And that's a shame.

I think it is a mistake for Bjorn to turn Pro. Just looking at his results in the futures makes me think this is a bad decision. He does not have the greatest frame, but hey been wrong before. Do not see how a year of this kid playing at USC or Georgia would have hurt. They send there players to futures anyways.

Uh no? That's not how my comment came across at all. Dude has lived the life of a professional tennis player (minus the getting paid part) for the last couple years. To just drop all that and go back to a "normal" life, playing college tennis, is a lot harder to do. My guess is that's what he was thinking about, and why he made his (questionable) decision.

The record isn't there, more importantly the game isn't there. The marketing of the french open win has carried him way beyond his ability and level as a player. He just wouldn't beat the seasoned top of the line ups at a few elite schools including Virginia. The "legend effect" has overtaken reason as it does many times, from juniors to pro - one or a couple good match/tournaments and everyone thinks more about the player than justified

Click to expand...

He could play 1 or 2 for UF next year, if that were an option. Would think UGA too. Probably Ohio State, maybe even USC. Maybe you have seen him play more than I have and think less of him, but from what I gathered I thought the guy was every bit as legit as Frank, Domijan, and other recent top recruits nationally.

Fratangelo beat former Illini Ryler DeHeart in a futures back in May. DeHeart has been off the tour for a bit but Bjorn beat him 1 and2 so I was impressed by that. It will be interesting to see how he does on tour.

Not trying to see glass half empty, but Ryler started futures in 2002 and doesn't have a ranking now. Career earnings are 200k over 10 years, so I don't see this as a significant win at all (maybe a few years back, but not now). If you are still doing futures and not winning 10 years out it says something. Tennis is just harsh like that.

Click to expand...

I agree. I obviously have (or had) a higher opinion of DeHeart from the past. Have always followed and rooted for him so I was a bit surprised to see Fratangelo win so easily. DeHeart did win a Florida mixed doubles event with his wife (former Illini Megan Fudge) so they actually have a chance to enter the mixed doubles at the US Open. USTA Florida

Didn't Ryler retire with an injury (pretty sure he had a protected ranking after sitting out a year) and then start his own tennis academy? I think I remember reading that he was hoping to play again professionally in Florida area tournaments just for fun, and probably because it would be interesting for his academy kids. Also, wasn't he No. 1 in college at some point?

Didn't Ryler retire with an injury (pretty sure he had a protected ranking after sitting out a year) and then start his own tennis academy? I think I remember reading that he was hoping to play again professionally in Florida area tournaments just for fun, and probably because it would be interesting for his academy kids. Also, wasn't he No. 1 in college at some point?

Click to expand...

DeHeart has a tennis school in Tampa Florida (I think) and plays some USTA Florida tournaments at times. He was ranked No. 1 in college back in 2005 and won the 2004 ITA Indoors Singles Championship. Played Rafael Nadal in the 2nd round of the US Open back in 2008.

DeHeart has a tennis school in Tampa Florida (I think) and plays some USTA Florida tournaments at times. He was ranked No. 1 in college back in 2005 and won the 2004 ITA Indoors Singles Championship. Played Rafael Nadal in the 2nd round of the US Open back in 2008.

Loses in the Quarters of the Pittsburgh Futures to Chase Buchanan 3-6 6-4 6-3.

Click to expand...

lol, let's be honest this guy's attempt at a pro career at this point in his life is a joke - he got to join harrison training with the davis cup team, got caught up in the glory, and made a horrible decision

at least he beat mengel, barely...he'd be a solid 2-3 player for duke next year

now on to people who have made smart decisions with their lives - three duke players in that draw - first rd losses for redlicki and mengel but good scorelines - and two nice wins for tahir who continues to look like he'll be a much bigger factor next year

tahir-redlicki win the pittsburgh futures...add them to cunha-semenzato as winners this summer and duke is all the sudden looking like a verrry tough doubles pt next year

Click to expand...

Maybe Duke should play those extended format matches like Virginia has done the last couple of years with willing opponents. Mengel and Saba could be a #3 doubles team, then you have Semmeler and Hammond maybe at #4. Levine is a good recruit and looks like he will be about #8 in singles.

Saw that Bjorn dropped a straight setter to Frank in Binghamton today. Scores were tight, but the stats look like Frank dominated his service games. Bjorn's return stats were actually pretty low percentages.

If he loses he should have gone to college. If he went to college and and lost some matches he should have gone to college. If he's not in the top 100 in the first year of turning pro he should have gone to college.

I believe his plan has near and long-term goals and is not as short sighted as the arm chair advisers analyzing his day to day with out being there.

Fratangelo could have been an excellent #4 at Virginia and most likely experienced a national title. He could have practiced against Mitchell Frank, Jarmere Jenkins, and Alex Domijan every day.

People talk about how many hours a day you can devote to tennis when you turn pro, but is it actually true? What happens when you lose in the first or second round of a pro event? Do you hang around the rest of the week getting practice matches in against other guys who lost? Do the other guys actually hang around, paying for hotel rooms? Perhaps if a local family hosts you, it is possible to hang around.

There are a lot of questions to answer, and a lot of assumptions made about how much quality time you can put in as a pro. I would be glad to actually hear what a typical week is like from someone who played Futures for a year.

Yea, so should every player outside the top 150. Why even go after you dream? Because everyone knows if you turn pro out of HS and don't make it, you can never go back and get an education and are destined to feeding balls.

Yea, so should every player outside the top 150. Why even go after you dream? Because everyone knows if you turn pro out of HS and don't make it, you can never go back and get an education and are destined to feeding balls.

Click to expand...

"Going to college" and "pursuing your [tennis] dream" are not mutually exclusive. You might want to retire that straw man argument. For a certain talent level, it could be that college tennis for 1-3 years is a more likely path to success in pursuing your tennis dream than spending money on the Futures tour for 1-3 years. The question is, for whom is this true and for whom is it not true? That might be an interesting discussion.

most college coaches don't give a rat's *** what happens to a player after their 4 years is up.. coaches don't care how much you improve as a player,they just want you to win for them now.. sometimes improving your overall game means you take some losses ,no top rank D1 coach is going sit around and watch you lose while you're adusting your game for the future..

I heard that Bjorn made a deal with Adidas through which they will pay for his education if he doesn't make it on the tour. Not really sure if its true. Just a rumor in the Pittsburgh tennis community and its kinda awkward to ask him something like that. Being a fellow Pittsburgher, I'm a very big fan of Bjorn. I see him hitting at different clubs around here often. He's a really down-to-earth guy. Always happy to talk about tennis, life on the tour etc. It was really nice to see him running a free clinic for inner city kids here. Hope he breaks through soon!

most college coaches don't give a rat's *** what happens to a player after their 4 years is up.. coaches don't care how much you improve as a player,they just want you to win for them now.. sometimes improving your overall game means you take some losses ,no top rank D1 coach is going sit around and watch you lose while you're adusting your game for the future..

Click to expand...

In your senior year, adjusting your game for the future means your post-college future, so I guess a coach might not care. In your freshman year, adjusting your game for the future could be of great benefit to your college coach. I have seen college coaches working on improving a player's game for the long term. If you have not, you have been observing the wrong coaches. Please tell all the top-notch juniors, men and women, to come to Virginia where exactly such long-term planning by the coaches occurs.

"Going to college" and "pursuing your [tennis] dream" are not mutually exclusive. You might want to retire that straw man argument. For a certain talent level, it could be that college tennis for 1-3 years is a more likely path to success in pursuing your tennis dream than spending money on the Futures tour for 1-3 years. The question is, for whom is this true and for whom is it not true? That might be an interesting discussion.

Click to expand...

You see it as a stawman position. I see it as second guessing a very darn good jr. player who in HS had already won a futures tournament a jr GS and achieved a elite ITF ranking. Then decided to forgo college and go pro.

You're a master debater, good luck having your hypothetical discussion with someone other than yourself.